NEW YORK - A former senior executive at Marsh &
McLennan Cos. Inc. and two executives from American International
Group Inc. pleaded guilty to fraud charges stemming from New York
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's sweeping investigation of fraud in
the insurance industry.

The pleas were entered Tuesday afternoon in Manhattan criminal
court before Justice James Yates. AG Spitzer's office said it has
obtained nine guilty pleas from executives at AIG, Marsh, ACE
Ltd. and Zurich Financial Services since launching its industry probe
last year.

AIG is the world's largest insurer by market value, and Marsh is
the world's largest insurance broker. Both are based in New York.

The highest-ranking executive pleading on Tuesday was Joshua Bewlay,
who had been a Marsh senior vice president and managing
director in its excess casualty group.

Bewlay pleaded guilty to one felony count of scheming to defraud.
As part of his plea, Bewlay "described an official protocol whereby
Marsh clients were given a significantly understated figure when
asked about the amount of revenue Marsh derived from placement
service agreements," Spitzer's office said.

John Mohs, a former manager at AIG's American Home Assurance Co.
unit, pleaded guilty to the same charge. The third executive, AIG
underwriter Carlos Coello, pleaded guilty to scheming to defraud in
the second degree, a misdemeanor.

Mohs had reported to former AIG executives Karen Radke and
Jean-Baptist Tateossian, who last October were the first to plead
guilty to fraud charges in the probe.

Bewlay and Mohs each face up to four years in prison, and Coello
up to one year. All three are cooperating with the investigation,
Spitzer's office said.

Marsh spokeswoman Barbara Perlmutter said Bewlay was no longer
with the company and declined further comment.

Last month, Marsh agreed to pay $850 million in restitution to
settle charges that it rigged bids and fixed prices in insurance
markets.

In a statement, AIG said Mohs' and Coello's pleas involve the
same unit and broker relationship as, and similar conduct to, the
earlier guilty pleas by AIG executives. AIG said it "deeply regrets"
its employees' involvement and said it will continue to cooperate
with Spitzer.

Spitzer and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the
last week subpoenaed AIG regarding products that might help
companies smooth earnings.

In his landmark Oct. 14 lawsuit, Spitzer accused Marsh of
exploiting its dominant position to steer business to selected
insurers, while raking in "placement fees." Marsh collected more
than a billion dollars in such fees in recent years before
suspending the practice last fall.

As part of that complaint, Spitzer's office said Bewlay had sent
Marsh executive Robert Stearns an e-mail on March 5, 2003,
instructing him to secure so-called "B quotes" from insurers. B
quotes are bids set too high to win but giving the appearance of
competition.

Last month, Stearns became the first Marsh executive to plead
guilty to criminal charges filed by Spitzer.